The award-winning singer-songwriter talks about his new album, premieres a lyric video — and serenades us with his latest single.
Billy Dean goes back to his roots — and back to the beach — for his first country album in a decade, The Rest of It’s Mine.
Set for a July 22 release, the 10-track collection of songs is tastily flavored by the music and moods of a place very near and dear to his heart. Born and raised in Quincy, Florida, the award-winning singer-songwriter returned to the panhandle in 2018, and now lives with his wife Stephanie on the beaches of St. George Island. It’s a spot on the map where Dean says he feels most alive.
“I was so touched and moved when Florida inducted me into its Artists Hall of Fame,” he explains, “and it made me terribly homesick. So I moved back to reconnect with my aging mother, my high school buddies and friends and family. That all inspired the tropical flavor of this album.”
The album also includes a special bonus track — a 30th anniversary re-recorded version of Dean’s smash hit “Somewhere in My Broken Heart,” performed with a full symphony orchestra.
“‘Somewhere in My Broken Heart’ has been such a gift to me and my family,” Dean says, “and I credit Hall of Fame songwriter Richard Leigh for teaching me so much about writing on the day that we put words to this beautiful melody that he had written on the piano. “It’s a melody I always thought should be surrounded by a luscious orchestra. What better time to celebrate than the 30-year anniversary of it becoming the Academy of Country Music's Song of the Year?”
Dean spoke about his new music and his greatest hits when he visited the C&I Studio.
And here’s the premiere of Billy Dean’s lyric video for “Saltwater Cowboy.”
